Steps to consider to start and grow a company. Basics are provided to help entrepreneurs. Examples may relate to Biotech, Pharma and Medical Device businesses, but the ideas apply to most technology fields.

Thursday, July 28, 2016

This
is the season of buying Girl Scout cookies.Think of the process of going door-to-door or standing outside buildings
and selling those cookies.It makes one
wonder how many rejections and negative comments these young people hear on a
regular basis.It is hard for some potential
customers to show enthusiasm toward the effort and be supportive, while others
smile and pull out their wallet and buy.

The
process of selling is hard and requires some measure of skill.Closing the deal is an art for some while
others find the process difficult.Excellent marketing of products helps.In the case of the Girl Scout cookies, it is hard to imagine any product
where door-to-door sales take place with greater market awareness.They tend to rank up there with Coke and
Pepsi!Do you know anyone that has never
heard of Girl Scout cookies?

Scouting
has been a way for young people to grow and lean many things.Business is one of those skills.In fact, marketing, selling, and accepting
rejection is part of the selling of the cookies.The cookies sold are primarily to raise
funds, but learning experiences are a significant benefit for these young women.

Skills
always grow as young women even as they age.Hillary Clinton was a
Girl Scout!She became a prominent
political figure having been a Presidential Candidate and now former Secretary
of State.She has experienced the
negative effects in the public arena and weathered the storms.In certain circles, she is one of the most
likely to be the next President of the United States and first woman to hold
that office.The adversity of not
receiving the nomination in the past did not hold her back and likely
emboldened her in the challenge of being a Secretary in the Obama
Administration.Maybe those skills
learned selling cookies grew over the years: i.e., she did not give up when faced with adversity!

Sometimes
early age experiences provide skills that enable people to excel in the
entrepreneurial world.

1.Never
give up:In a previous discussion, I
wrote that “Entrepreneurs rarely throw in
the towel.” This topic addressed the facts that entrepreneurs must possess
a “stick-to-it” attitude to help them
become successful.It is hard to sell
cookies when being turned down frequently.The learning experience of staying with the task and accepting that some
people do not what you have is great leaning experience.

2.You can
rebuild: I have written and discussed in talk shows that “You can rebuild after business failure and
devastation.” Girl scouts learn this lesson by being excessively turned
down or by selling the fewest boxes. It
is FAILURE followed by finding a new path to success that teaches one to never
give up and seek a way to get a job done. They learn that there is always next year and that
striving to do better is the objective. This is a fantastic lesson to learn at
such a young age.

3.Networking
and communication:These two traits go hand in hand and they are
extremely important to the entrepreneur.The ability to communicate in clear concise messages along with meeting new people is a staple of most successful
entrepreneurs.

4.Selling
and closing:Finally, the art of
presenting a product and getting the customer to buy it is basic to all
business.This skill set fits with
obtaining new jobs, running for office, or building a business.One of the key products marketed in each of
these is the entrepreneur’s ability to run the organization.Makes you wonder if Hillary Clinton got some
of her skills by selling cookies when she was younger!